Please DON'T give animals as a party favor (Vent)

[TinkerBess_SnowTori]

I know that I posted about having to say no to my children that the animal wouldn't be able to come home with us and that would bother me.

But I want to seriously say that it would bother me more knowing that the family hosting the party saw the animals as a prop - a disposable prop at that in some cases.

I hope never to run into this situation.

 

[lulugirl]

I know that I posted about having to say no to my children that the animal wouldn't be able to come home with us and that would bother me.

But I want to seriously say that it would bother me more knowing that the family hosting the party saw the animals as a prop - a disposable prop at that in some cases.

I hope never to run into this situation.

I agree. People who give out animals as party favors are probably the same people who buy baby chicks or bunnies for Easter because they're cute. These are living creatures that require care and responsibility.

 

[disykat]

I still remember a student coming to school all excited and telling me about the chick she got for Easter. About two days later she was upset because she had rolled over on it and killed while she was sleeping. It was sleeping in her bed! So not only - GROSS! - they obviously considered it disposable and didn't even have a place for it. They lived in an apartment.

 

[DisneyJen0504]

I agree. People who give out animals as party favors are probably the same people who buy baby chicks or bunnies for Easter because they're cute. These are living creatures that require care and responsibility.

I agree. What a shame.

 

[sixcats]

Last year I asked my daughter what she would like to give her friend for her birthday. The birthday girl's suggestions were a lizard, a snake, a mouse... I explained to my daughter that you don't give pets as gifts. The little girl might want it, but I'd never do that to another parent.

My daughter came home from the party with a Betta, a small tank, and fish food as part of her goodie bag. I appreciate that they provided us with everything that was needed-but what a dumb idea! I should have gotten the birthday girl a St. Bernard.

Hmmm, I wonder if she'll have a party again this year.

 

[Marseeya]

Its part of being a parent you can't always be the good guy, children have to realize if you say no, its no, thats it! The problem will lie with the parent not wanting to "upset" the child, in my family I have to say no at Birthday parties all the time because all they hand out is sugary sweet treats that decay my childs teeth, which costs me lots of money in the long term as well.... I say no, I feel bad yes, but I am the parent and I decide what is right or wrong for my child and if the host chooses to give out lots of sugary things I don't tell her how wrong it it is, we say NO THANK YOU!

Candy is not even close to being comparable to a living, breathing creature. For you to even make that comparison boggles the mind.

 

[disneymom3]

This wasn't "favors", but at a beach themed wedding reception last year I went to they had fish in glass bowls as part of the centerpieces. (LOTS of them) Come to find out when they cleaned the reception hall they dumped them. Makes me so mad!

My niece did this at her wedding--the centerpieces--on a very hot day in August in So Ca at an outside wedding and by the time the reception rolled around most of the fishies were floating at the tops of their bowls. Not nice to the fish and really NOT nice to see dead fish on your table!!

 

[Micca]

Candy is not even close to being comparable to a living, breathing creature. For you to even make that comparison boggles the mind.
__________________

What if the creature is coated in chocolate?

 

[SandraM]

Its part of being a parent you can't always be the good guy, children have to realize if you say no, its no, thats it!

This is so true. But I would object to another parent of a child having a party putting me into the situation where I have to be the bad guy, by offering my child something that I would never have expected, and that with advance warning would have informed the parent, thus not ending up in the position of being the bad guy.

The problem will lie with the parent not wanting to "upset" the child,

No, the problem will lie with the stupidity of another parent thinking it's acceptable to hand out living animals as if they were candy!

in my family I have to say no at Birthday parties all the time because all they hand out is sugary sweet treats that decay my childs teeth, which costs me lots of money in the long term as well.... I say no, I feel bad yes, but I am the parent and I decide what is right or wrong for my child and if the host chooses to give out lots of sugary things I don't tell her how wrong it it is, we say NO THANK YOU!

Maybe it's different where you live, but I thought it was commonplace for candy to be given out at children's parties. Therefore it is easy to not let one's child go to a party if one is concerned about being given sugary things. Or it's easy to say to a host/hostess that one's child cannot have candy. I have a diabetic niece whose mother has to explain this all the time. It's not a problem.

But it's unbelievably thoughtless to hand out living animals at a children's party. Having a pet is a large responsibility, one that should not be handed out to children at a party without prior discussion with the parents who are responsible for the child.

 

[Marseeya]

Candy is not even close to being comparable to a living, breathing creature. For you to even make that comparison boggles the mind.
__________________

What if the creature is coated in chocolate?

I only make exceptions for chocolate Mickey heads. No goldfish, sorry.

 

[Rock'n Robin]

We got a goldfish for a party favor about 3 years ago. It didn't last long, so then since the kids were interested we got a 30 gallon tank with several fish. They come and go (our neons live forever!) and I usually am the one to do the "dirty work".
You can't count on goldfish dying either, my neighbors have a 9 year old goldfish! It has huge feathery fins and isn't gold anymore (I know for a fact it's at least 7 1/2 years old because they've had it as long as I've been in this house).
When DD#1 was 2 or 3 two of our friends brought her 3 goldfish they won at a carnival. Two died natural deaths within a week, and the last one disappeared one day. I went to the stairs and said "Kelly, have you seen the goldfish?" She pulled it out of her pocket with a big smile and proudly showed it to me! We had to explain that the fishy needed to be in water to survive, but the huge smile on her face since she was "playing" with the fish was priceless. (please don't get upset about this; she was very young).
Robin M.

 

[MAH4546]

Eck!!! Sorry but I think that this is odd and I wouldn't have ever done it.


Hermit crabs? Has anyone seen those poor painted things they have at the mall? I always refuse to let DS near them.

Well, it would be cruel if the shell's were part of their body, but they aren't. Hermit crabs don't have shells, they find shells to live-in.

 

[EsmeraldaX]

I agree!

I've been to weddings before where they gave out little fish in vases for favors. My niece actually went to a birthday party where all the kids got mice!
She had the mouse for about a year.

The thing about the fish really makes me mad. First off, I don't think fish enjoy being "fished" with a net. Maybe I'm weird, but I think that's cruel and why put unnecessary stress on a living creature when you don't need to? Have you ever netted a fish out of a tank for cleaning? I dread doing so with my Betta because I KNOW it freaks him out. He hates it.

Instead, get a go fish game, you know the kind with the open mouthed fish with magnets and you have to try and get one with the magent rod? Then maybe hand out a non-living prize for catching the fake fish, like a Nemo beanie plush or something.

Don't use living creatures. That's just mean.

Second, the reason most of these fish die is because goldfish are actually rather complicated fish to keep. They require a good sized tank and treated water and are very messy. Sure, some people have good luck just sticking them in a bowl, but most do not. And then you have a heartbroken kid.

Third, comparing living animals to candy is the most ridiculous thing I have ever heard. There is no comparision. Okay, maybe I'm crazy again here but I don't think having a few sweets at a birthday party once in a while, mixed with an otherwise balanced diet is going to raise your kids dental bills all the much over the span of 18 years. And lets just say by some freak chance, your kid has super sensitive teeth and that one oreo he has at little Billy's birthday gives him 12 cavities he otherwise would not have gotten? You have an extra dental bill.

People who are complaining about the pets, while they might not appreciate the extra cost, will only expereince that extra cost because they care about the welfare of the animal in question. Otherwise, they'd just let it die.

It's not just the extra bills for these people. It's the ethics of the situation that bothers many people. Living, breathing things should not be given out as party favors like balloons. Thought about the responsiblity a pet means should go into bringing one home. You don't think about responsibility and welfare when you hand out a hamster in a goodie bag.

 

[mum4jenn]

WOW!!!!!!! VERY well said!!!!

 

[CheshireVal]

The thing about the fish really makes me mad. First off, I don't think fish enjoy being "fished" with a net. Maybe I'm weird, but I think that's cruel and why put unnecessary stress on a living creature when you don't need to?

Excellent point-- I thought the same thing when I first read this thread. It makes me sad.